Simulated hand-embroidered material and method of making same

ABSTRACT

THE PRESENT INVENTION RELATES TO A FABRIC WHICH HAS DISPOSED THEREON INDEPENDENT DESIGN AREAS. EACH DESIGN AREA, WHICH MAY TAKE ANY DESIRED SHAPE, GIVES THE GENERAL APPEARANCE AND SENSORY IMPRESSION OF A DESIGN HAVING RAISED BORDER THEREAROUND IMITATING THE HAND EMBROIDERY IMPRESSION. THE METHOD GENERALLY, OF OBTAINING THIS HAND EMBROIDERY LOOK REQUIRES THAT A BASIC DESIGN BE APPLIED USUALLY COLORED THROUGH AN APPLICATION MEANS OR OTHER APPROPRIATE DESIGN APPLICATOR USING A THINNED POLYVINYL CHLORIDE COMPOSITION. A SECOND SILK SCREEN IS USED TO APPLY A THICK LAYER OF POLYVINYL CHLORIDE AT THE BORDER OF THE BASIC DESIGN OR WITHIN SAID DESIGN AND THEREAFTER THE COMBINATION IS SUBJECTED TO A HEATING PROCESS THEREBY CREATING A DESIGN HAVING A RAISED BORDER EFFECT IN THE STYLE AND APPEARANCE OF A HAND-EMBROIDERED DESIGN.

June 1, 1971 M, KUKQFF 3,582,440.

SIMULATED HAND-EMBROIDERED MATERIAL AND METHOD OF' MAKING SAME Filed May20. 1968 I MILTON KuKol-F BY l l MORA/Ex@i United States Patent OfleePatented June 1, 1971 3,582,440 SIMULATED HAND-EMBROIDERED MATERIAL ANDMETHOD OF MAKING SAME Milton Kukol, 30 Irma Drive, Oceanside, N.Y. 11572Filed May 20, 1968, Ser. No. 730,388 Int. 'CL B44f 7 00 U.S. Cl. 161-194 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE The present invention relates to afabric which has dis.

apply a thick layer of polyvinyl chloride at the border of the basicdesign or within said design and thereafter the combination is subjectedto a heating process thereby creating a design having a raised bordereffect in the style and appearance of a hand-embroidered design.

Heretofore, it has been well known that hand-embroidered garments aremost expensive and in general more beautiful than mere prints. Theexpense of making hand embroideries, whether in garments or relatedareas of decorative fabrics, have resulted in extremely high costs tothe buying public, thereby limiting the marketability of these garmentsor fabrics.

Machine-embroidered fabrics and garments have met with a large measureof success. Varying types of machine embroideries have been made, someusing a back ground material, such as nylon, and others merely in anopenwork pattern. The machine embroidery has a raised effect, as in thehand-embroidered work, however great detail of designs cannot beobtained because of the natural limitations of the machinery itself.

Further machine embroidery does not and cannot, in the present state ofthe art use more than one color. That is, multicolored machineembroidered designs are not possible with the present machinery.

Attempts have been made to first print a colored design on a fabric andthereafter embroider a border or edge around the`printed design. Theseattempts have not been successful because of the inability to properlyregister the embroidery machinery with the printed design. This resultsprimarily because of the slight irregular shrinkage of the fabric afterprinting as well as the normal give of the material when large areas aresubjected to the machine for the application of the embroidery.Obviously the outlining of printed multicolored designs by handembroidery, is again, extremely costly.

Therefore the schifli and Bonnaz machine embroidg public acceptance,because of the failuredescribed-above.

Numerous patents have been filed relating to raised designs forgarments, few have been used and those used have not been deemedpractical enough to satisfy the general public. For example onemanufacturer attempted to print a design on a fabric and thereafterattempted to apply shelf edging of plastic material using at least oneplastic applying roller. The object was simulated appliqud material.

Another and more recent attempt to obtain the raised design elfect wasinitiated by merely applying a heavy coating of resinous composition bymeans of a roller and thereafter using another roller to obtaindepressions in the heavy first coating of resinous material. Thereafterheat was applied to set the material. This allegedly more sophisticatedattempt at the raised look merely resulted in a fabric being almostrigid on its surface where the design was applied. Here again thegeneral public found this completely non-usable.

Intermediate the above mentioned attempts, a so called breathablestriped upholstery fabric was invented in which a woven fabric would beprovided with raised plastic stripes of one color and valleystherebetween of a different color. A woven cotton fabric was providedwith a thin vinyl coating without rendering the fabric impervious to airthen the vinyl coating was thereafter heated, pressed and intermittentlycooled. Thereafter, another coat of vinyl resin is applied throughnotched blades giving a bas-relief eect. Various ingenious vacuum tubarrangements are used to clean undesirable vinyl deposits from thefabric and the entire fully coated fabric is again heated.

In each of the aforementioned examples, the processes for making thefinal products, generally relates to materials which were too rigid andnon-exible. The desired raised effect of embroidery was not obtainedsuiciently to satisfy the purchasing public, and the materials were toostiff and inflexible to be worn.

ICertainly it is recognized that it is impossible to obtain a raisedlook on printed fabrics. The very nature of the printing processprohibits the raised or bas-relief effect. This is further found to betrue in roller printing, which although resulting in varying designsAand multicolor effects cannot produce the bas-relief effect sofrequently sought to be simulated.

However, attempts have been made in printing of designs to create araised border (simulating embroidery). The attempt. centered about theuse of viscous material for printing at the edges of the design and toprint continuously until the border has been built. This has resulted inthe cracking of the design and therefore has not been found practical.

Many attempts at hand printing and painting with thick and thin paintshave resulted in` abject failures because of the cracking and fleckingof the dried paints.

Other forms of obtaining these raised or bas-relief effects, have beentried, all with similar results. None of these varied methods andprocesses have been able to produce a fabric of multicolor, which iswashable and dry cleanable and which provides a raised or bas-reliefdesign which simulates embroideries.

It is the general object of the present invention to avoid and overcomethe objections to prior art fabrics, and the method of making the sameand yet provide an inexpensive fabric which appears to be embroidered.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a fabric whichgives the impression of emfbroidery thereon.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a material withcolorful designs thereon, in bas-relief, which is washable and drycleanable.- n f- Yet another object of the present invention is toprovide a washable and dry cleanable fabric which has a multiplicity ofdesigns thereon, in bas-relief, which resembles hand-embroideredfabrics.

Still a further object of the present invention is to provide a methodof making a highly decorative fabric which is washable and dry cleanablewhich resembles a fabric which is hand embroidered.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide a method ofmaking a highly decorative fabric which is washable and dry cleanableand which simulates hand embroidered material, at a low manufacturingcost.

The objects of the present invention enumerated above, and other objectswhich Will become more apparent as the description proceeds are achievedby providing a decorative fabric which simulates a hand-embroideredfabric having a fabric base and a thinned layer of polyvinyl chlorideresin applied thereto through a design application member. A secondlayer of thickened polyvinyl chloride resin is selectively andcontiguously applied to the thinned layer of polyvinyl chloride resinthereby selectively creating a raised design effect. The fabric is thenpassed through a heat field in which the polyvinyl chloride layers aremade integral with each other, resulting in a highly designed fabricwhich is washable, dry cleanable and fiexible and one which closelyresembles a handembroidered fabric.

For a better understanding of the present invention reference should behad to the accompanying drawings wherein like numerals of referenceindicate similar parts throughout the respective views and wherein FIG.1 is a plan view of a bas-relief design on a fabric.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the design of FIG. 1 taken alonglines 2-2 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a cross-section view of the alternative embodiment of FIG. 2,and

FIG. 4 is pictorial representation of the apparatus used in thepreparation of fabric.

Although the principles of the present invention are broadly applicableto the application of designs having an appearance of hand embroidery onvarious materials it should be understood that the present invention isparticularly well adapted to the application of a printed design towearable fabrics and hence it is shown and will be described as such.Referring now to FIG. 1, a fabric having a printed design thereon,simulating hand embroidery, is shown and may be designated by thereference numeral 10. A fabric base material 12 or other materialsuitable for wearing is provided to which a design 14 may be applied.

As shown in FIG. 2 and FIG. 4, a first application or layer 16 ofpolyvinyl chloride may be applied to the base material 12, in apredetermined design by means of a design application member 18. Thedesign application member 18 may take the form of a silk screen or thelike member through which a thinned composition of polyvinyl chlorideresin 20 may be used. It may be seen that a myriad of varying designsmay be applied in this manner. The first layer 16 of resinous material20 will generally provide the basic design which is to be embellishedsoon thereafter, and generally contains the basic color theme of thedesign 14.

Immediately after the application of the first layer 16 has been made,to the base material 12, a second design application member 22 may beplaced over the basic design 14, and in registry therewith, such that asecond layer 24 of thick polyvinyl chloride may be selectively appliedthereon. Generally, the second design application member 22 is used toapply the resin 20 to places on or adjacent the basic design 14 where araised, or bas-relief effect is desired. It is contemplated that thesecond design application member 22 will take the form of a screen 26.However, other means may be utilized which will lend itself to thisselective design application.

The simulated hand-embroidered effect of the fabric 10 is characterizedin that a partial design which is applied to a base material by thefirst application member 18 is a relatively flat design 28 whereas thesecond application or layer 24 applied to selective areas bordering oron the relatively flat design 28 may be raised as much as one sixteenth(T1/i6) of an inch. The design 14 itself is completely flexible andbendable in all directions and is washable and dry cleanable. Furtherthe back 30 of the base material 12, which may come into contact withthe skin of the wearer, does not present any rough or irritatingsurface. The design 14 may be permanently integrated with the basematerial 12 so that cracking and peeling of the resinous material orpolyvinyl chloride, is impossible.

In order to more fully describe the composition of the decorated fabric10, reference is made to FIG. 4, which discloses the pictorial step bystep procedure followed in the manufacture of the fabric 10.Procedurally, a base material 12, may have an open work fiat design 28applied thereto on either selected areas of the base material 12 orcovering the entire fabric. The designs 28 may be applied through afirst design application member 18 which may take the form of a silkscreen or stencil arrangement. A thinned polyvinyl chloride is appliedto the base material -12 through the first design application member 18which results in a generally flat appearing design 28. A second designapplication member 22 is thereafter placed over the firstly applieddesign and the openings in the screen or stencil, which are to be usedto selectively flow a thickened polyvinyl chloride border (for example)around the fiat design 28, is placed in proper registry. The moreviscous second design is used through the second design applicationmember or screen 26 in order to form the second or raised design,leaving a raised formation in the predetermined pattern.

It should be recognized that although a screen is referred to as thesecond design application member 22, this may be applied by hand orthrough a sieve or screen or other type of pattern forming device toproduce the desired raised pattern or design.

In order to permanently adhere the first layer 116 to the base material12 and to integrally join the first and second layer one to the other,the base material 12 'with the partially covering design thereon orentirely covering design, is passed into a heated environment 32 suchthat the two layers may slightly ow together without losing the highlyraised border or design created by the second layer 24 of the polyvinylchloride. The first layer 16 achieves its flat appearance by flowing orpenetrating into the pores of the base material 12 becoming integralwith the base material 12 thereby being permanently bonded thereto.

The resulting fabric 10 is one which is partially or wholly covered witha bas-relief plurality of designs `14 giving the appearance of anexpensive hand embroidered look which is completely washable and drycleanable.

Basically the plastic resins applied to the base material 12 arecomposed of vinyl chloride resin particles dispersed in a plasticizer towhich may be added stabilizers, pigments, gelling agents, mineralspirits (for thinning) and similar modifying additives. The formulationfor plastisols usable with the present invention is quite wide. Forexample, based upon 100 parts by weight of vinyl chloride resin, theamount of plasticizer may vary from 50 parts to 200 parts and the amountof pigment, stabilizers and/ or other modifying components may varybetween 0 and 10 parts.

Typical examples of plastisols which may be used with the presentinvention are as follows:

Pounds Polyvinyl chloride resin (QYNV) 100 Di iso octyl phthalateDibutyl tin maleate 1 Pounds Polyvinyl chloride resin (Geon 121) 100 Dioctyl phthalate 80 Barium-cadmium laurate 1 Polyvinyl chloride resin(Exon 654) 100 Tri cresyl phosphate 80 Tri basic lead stearate 2Plastisols made according to the above formulations I have found, havethe characteristics of pliability, flexibility and softness rather thanthe stiffness and hardness of other types of adhesives. They may bereadily cut or sewn and they can withstand repeated washing or drycleaning and have good, long lasting wearing characteristics. If desiredthese plastisols may contain pigmentation and may be thinned by mineralspirits. In this manner the polyvinyl chloride may be made free fiowingfor the fiat design (first layer) or thick and viscous (second layer) togive the high raised appearance where desired.

Although the second layer 24, which comprises the raised portion of theoverall design 14 may have been previously described as being applied ontop of the first layer 16 (generally flat portion of the design) it maybe seen that the second layer 24 may be applied around or bordering thefirst layer 16 and in direct communication with base material 12. Inthis instance the heated environment 32 through which the base material12 is passed will cause the thicker (second layer 24) to partially flowand thereby penetrate the pores of the base material 12 forming apermanent bond therebetween as previously described in relation to thelirst layer 16 (thinned PVC). In this latter instance, the second layer24 may be applied to the base material 12 through the second designapplication member 22 which may take the form of a hand applicator,sieve, screen or other means. In this latter case, a metal screen memberis preferred from the point of view of speed and accurate registry ofthe second layer around the first layer (the printed design).

Further, the thickness of the second design application member 22 is ofutmost importance since the height of the second layer is a function ofthe thickness of the screen through which it is applied. Experimentationhas shown that 1/16 of an inch is an optimum figure and higher raisedportions may be obtained because of the thickness of the metal screenand the viscosity of the PVC.

'I'he step of heating or passing through a heated environment may beaccomplished by placing the base material 12 in a heating means 34 suchas one heated plate or by placing it in an oven, or by using infra-redheating lamps, or by using any other convenient heating means. All ofthe plastisols described above have a heat curing temperature in therange of 300 degrees F. to 400 degrees F. and all will adhere firmly toa fabric or other porous material by becoming firmly set in the pores,as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3. As described these plastisols have a suitabledegree of lflexibility which allow a piece of fabric on which they arecoated to be rolled, bent, shaped or sewn.

Highly stylized simulated machine and hand-embroidered material havebeen made according to the process of FIG. 4 using fabrics or otherfibrous material as the base material. These fabrics which may have theraised bas-relief design as much as one sixteenth (1/16) of an inchabove the base material have many desirable characteristics includinglong wearing life, ability to withstand repeated washing, ability towithstand dry cleaning, excellent draping appearance, and softness andexibility of the plastisol.

lIn carrying out the method of the invention disclosed above, it may beseen that the pigmentation of the first layer x16 will generally providethe basic color theme of the design 14, although more than oneapplication to the basic design may be made. The second layer 24 may beof any color which is desired to either blend with or contrast withcolor of the first layer 16.

Although the invention has been described as utilizing polyvinylchloride as the basic material for the layers which make up the design,acetates of varying natures may also be used. The acetates or PVA may betreated in the same manner as the PVCs and thereby create thehand-embroidered look previously described. However, it has been foundgenerally that the PVC are not compatible with PVA so that whenselecting a material to be used to make up the design 14, the choice ofthe resinous material must be consistent.

In summary, I have invented a new material which closely resembles ahand-embroidered fabric as well as the method of making the same. It maybe recognized by those skilled in the art that my invention hascompletely solved the simulation of hand embroidery problems, byproviding a bas-relief design either partially or wholly covering afabric, The design being Washable, dry cleanable and flexible insubstantially all directions, as well as being soft to the touch of thewearer.

Although a preferred embodiment and alternatives thereof have beendescribed in detail, in accordance with the patent statutes, it shouldbe particularly understood that the invention is not limited thereto orthereby.

I claim:

1. A simulated hand-embroidered material comprising a base material, afirst layer of thinned polyvinyl chloride applied to said base materialin an open work design, a second layer of thickened polyvinyl chloridelaid contiguously to said first layer, said second layer being disposedon said first layer and being raised above said first layer, said firstlayer being fused to said base material by means of heat, and saidsecond layer being fused to said first material thereby integrating thetwo layers, said simulated hand embroidery material being washable anddry-cleanable.

2. A simulated hand-embroidered material according to claim 1 whereinsaid first layer is permanently bonded to said base material.

3. A simulated hand-embroidered material according to claim 2 whereinsaid first and second layers are flexible and are bendable in alldirections.

4. A method of making simulated hand embroidery material comprising thesteps of applying a first layer of thinned polyvinyl chloride on a basematerial in an open work design, applying a second layer of thickenedpolyvinyl chloride through a design applicator on to said first layer ofthinned polyvinyl chloride forming a raised design on said first layer,heating said base material and said first and second layers of polyvinylchloride, fusing said first layer of thinned polyvinyl chloride to saidbase material, and fusing said second thickened layer of the polyvinylchloride to said first thin layer of polyvinyl chloride for permanentlybonding each layer together and to said base material,

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,323,976 6/ 1967 Salcer 117-37X2,798,820 7/ 1957 Nelson 117-45X 3,432,328 3/1969 Vaurio 117-383,338,731 y8/1967 Sommer 1l7-45X 2,889,651 -6/1959 Baldanza 264-922,810,673 10/1957 Wooldrik 161-97X 3,259,515 7/ 1966 Pecker 117-38XPHILIP DIER, Primary Examiner UJS. Cl. X.R.

